No bail for accused hit man

Durban - His silence on being implicated in the murder and conspiracy to commit the murder of Merebank mother Charmaine Naidoo was one of the factors that led to Mandlenkosi Jobe’s being denied bail on Thursday.

Durban Magistrate Logan Perumal said Jobe had shown no exceptional circumstances as to why he should be granted bail, and the magistrate also felt it was not in the interest of justice to do so.

The State alleges that Jobe, 40, was hired by Alvin “Inderesan” Maistry to do a “hit” on his wife and that he in turn hired two other men, Bongani Manyathi and Sifiso Joyisa, to carry out the killing.

Joyisa is serving a 40-year prison sentence for his role in the murder.

In April, Maistry unsuccessfully applied for bail and their co-accused Manyathi had abandoned his bail application.

All three face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Should they be convicted they face the possibility of serving a life sentence.

Naidoo, 32, was killed in February after robbers stormed her Merebank home after she returned from a shop she owned with her husband in Wentworth. She was abducted, shot, stabbed and strangled. Her body was dumped and her car was abandoned in Isipingo.

Joyisa implicated Jobe, a nightclub bouncer, and Manyathi, a homeless man, in his written guilty plea.

He said Jobe hired him, a week before the murder, to kill Naidoo, and Manyathi, who was Jobe’s friend, helped him carry out the crime. He admitted to shooting Naidoo in her right shoulder after she was shoved into her car and taken to KwaMakhutha.

He said when Naidoo did not die, Manyathi stabbed her several times and then strangled her with her shoelace.

In his affidavit opposing bail, Warrant Officer Rajendran Nagesar, said Jobe arranged for the transport of Manyathi and Joyisa from KwaMakhutha to a nightclub where he was working.

He allegedly paid their taxi fare and arranged for their accommodation in his flat in Durban after the murder.

During Jobe’s bail application, there was a dispute over his previous convictions. Jobe had stated that he had no previous convictions, but State prosecutor Blackie Swart referred to an eight-year sentence for attempted murder.

Jobe then provided documentation showing that he had successfully appealed against the conviction.

During final bail arguments, Jobe’s attorney, Ridwaan Sayed, said Jobe had roots in KwaZulu-Natal as he had five children who were all financially dependent on him.

He also owned a security and cleaning business with 12 employees.

Sayed argued there was no evidence that Jobe would abscond if released on bail.

He said Jobe was linked to the crime by evidence of his co-accused, which he felt should be treated with a degree of caution.

“There is a high risk that such witnesses would provide false evidence to the State for their own benefit,” he said.

Swart disagreed, saying one of the witnesses, Joyisa, had pleaded guilty to the crime and was serving a jail sentence.

“This was the most reprehensible type of murder and robbery,” said Swart.

He argued it was not in the interest of justice to grant Jobe bail and felt the exceptional circumstances Jobe put forward amounted to circumstances most people faced daily.

Perumal agreed, saying Jobe had been incarcerated since February and had presented no evidence that his family was destitute or would starve.

He also felt that Jobe’s affidavit answered nothing about the State’s implication of him in the crime.

“He has a right to remain silent on this issue, but this is a schedule six bail application, meaning the onus rests on the applicant to prove there are exceptional circumstances for him to be granted bail,” Perumal said.